Unfortunately, the football challenge in isolation is not enough to attract a high-end coach to Monaco these days. The club are in their second season in Ligue 2 following the ignominy of relegation.

The playing staff may have been upgraded at the kind of expense rarely seen outside the top division, but only the keenest of connoisseurs would be familiar with many names in the current squad. The goalkeeper, Flavio Roma, the veteran from Monaco's march to the 2004 Champions League final who returned to his old club on a free transfer over the summer, is as much of a household name as it gets. And he has not had a game this season.

The presence of a billionaire owner, the Russian magnate Dmitry Rybolovlev, is the only explanation as to why Mancini might have been interested in the plans to return the principality club to something resembling its former greatness. The rationale behind Rybolovlev's involvement is difficult to assess. Even if a renaissance brings Monaco back to Europe's top table, the club by its very nature is not in a position to be particularly profitable.

Coming from a tax haven with a population of 35,000, many of whom are not particularly passionate about football, without any potential to build a stadium any larger than the 18,000 capacity Stade Louis II, there is an inevitable ceiling in terms of any aspirations the club has with its support and commercial and marketing deals. Monaco may be an alluring opportunity because of the luxurious atmosphere around the place, but with FFP lurking, grand investment in the club makes no real financial sense.

That did not stop Rybolovlev from wanting to make Mancini one of the best-paid coaches in the business. Rybolovlev does not have the clout of the Qatar Investment Authority which is transforming the footballing landscape at Paris Saint-Germain, but he still intends for a revived Monaco to make some waves of their own. In France and beyond.

Rybolovlev arrived at a time when Monaco were in desperate need of assistance. Their very survival was under threat, with bankruptcy hanging over them. The Russian, a philanthropist who has donated millions to the rebuilding of cathedrals in Moscow among other things, had been living in Monaco, and his purchase of the club followed personal dialogue with Prince Albert (who owns membership card No2 of the ASM supporters club – his father was No1). The prince's word was required to confirm Rybolovlev's suitability to invest.

When it was apparent that Mancini was staying at City, Monaco switched their attention to Ranieri. In a poignant twist of fate, it was at Monaco's Stade Louis II that Ranieri first felt the force of the influence of the new breed of Russian football club owners.

When he was Chelsea coach in 2004, the rumours that Roman Abramovich was courting José Mourinho's advisers on his yacht in the Monte Carlo harbour provided a shady sub-plot to a Champions League meeting between Monaco and Chelsea, which went badly wrong on the pitch for the Londoners. All in all, it was the beginning of the end for Ranieri at Stamford Bridge.

A glance back to Monaco's team at the time is instructive of how vibrant the football scene there can be. Their dynamic side included a young Patrice Evra, and an enticing front line of Ludovic Giuly (who soon moved to Barcelona), Fernando Morientes (on loan from Real Madid) and a winger of promise he never quite went on to realise, Jérôme Rothen. A young Emmanuel Adebayor was on the bench. Monaco shocked Real Madrid and Chelsea in the knockout stages before succumbing to Mourinho's Porto in the final.

The Champions League adventure brought Monaco to a European Cup semi-final for the third time in 10 years. Arsène Wenger had guided them to the first, to be followed by Jean Tigana and a team spearheaded by a young Thierry Henry and David Trezeguet.

After the good times, Monaco's steady decline in recent years was such they were heading towards a slow death. Their convalescence still has some way to go. Nothing less than promotion is expected, and although Ranieri's team are top of the table and top scorers, Ligue 2 is too tight to offer any certainties at this stage. Monaco are not the only fallen champion in the division. They have Nantes and Auxerre for company.

Anybody inclined to attend their next home game at the Stade Louis II can buy a ticket for €5 (£4). Season tickets start at €38. The average home attendance last season was 4,611 – around one third of the usual crowd the year they reached the Champions League final. Without Rybolovlev's money, Monaco's challenge would be something else entirely.